Ricki Lake
Gossip

Ricki Lake has battled weight problems for years.

Now, in an interview with Access Hollywood, the actress and former talk show host reveals a possible reason why: "I was a victim of childhood sexual abuse and I think it contributed. Who knows for sure?"

"I've done many years in therapy and worked on all my issues. I didn't talk about it for, like, 15 or 20 years; I didn't admit that it had happened to me because I wanted to kind of bury things. It, in some way, made me who I am today."

You've gotta admire Lake for speaking out on such a difficult issue.

"I don't want to be a poster child for this at all but it's very weird thing for children when they're violated in that way. Food became a comfort to me; it was my kind of security blanket."

Ricki Lake hopes to help other women in her situation.

We're sorry, Ricki Lake.

Our entertainment news spies have been focusing on the impressive weight gains of stars such as Kate Bosworth and Nicole Richie.

And this whole time, you've been shedding more pounds than drinks in the hand of Britney Spears on a typical Tuesday night.

"I think I had [that muscle] under all that fat all those years. I think it was just there," Lake told People magazine at the Choose Your Cause Launch Party and Charity Benefit at Fred Segal Fun in Santa Monica.

Working out with a trainer three times a week has done wonders for this former talk show host...

Americans love to hate Spencer Pratt.

And they like to look at photos of Eva Longoria nude.

Neither of these facts come as a shock to us. But we were surprised to learn that people really, love to read about Ricki Lake.

According to the Us Weekly website, the magazine's recent cover story about a bikini-clad Lake losing 125 pounds was the third most popular article in the history of that online destination. You won't be taken aback by the two topics it trailed:

1. Britney Spears shaving her head
2. Anna Nicole Smith dying

That's crazy and tragic impressive company for Ricki to be included in.

"I f--king love the cover! It's amazing!" Lake said. "So many people from my past have come forward telling me how great I looked, and it has been an overwhelming response. I am thrilled with everything and love the way I look on the cover and in the magazine."

It just goes to show that Americans can't get enough of a good weight loss story. Why else would Jared Fogle still be on TV?

Or Valerie Bertinelli be in the news again?

Kristine Lefebvre is a natural beauty.

But not everyone is that lucky. Take former talk show host, Ricki Lake, for example.

Once weighing 250 pounds, the rotund celebrity decided to give dieting a chance. Shunning surgery, but dedicating herself to the cause like The Sports Gal ripping contestants on The Bachelor, Lake became a 123-pound, size-4 beauty.

Here's a snippet of the interview Ricki recently gave Us Weekly:

On crash dieting in 1991:
"… I went on this extreme diet. I used to faint because I wasn't eating and I was always exercising."

* The Hollywood Gossip note: Sound at all familiar, Nicole Richie?

On the most exciting thing about her new weight:
"For the longest time, when I was very heavy, I couldn't cross my legs. I couldn't physically do it. LOVE that I can cross my legs now ... Even my shoe size is changing. My Jimmy Choos are too big now."

On what she thinks of super-skinny actresses:
"I think I have no wrinkles because I always had fat on my face. Really skinny girls age so fast."

And with that, Keira Knightley finally at a Big Mac. Thank goodness.